First announced at IFA in Berlin back in September 2015, Acer has officially launched it's own flagship Windows 10 Mobile smartphone, the Acer Liquid Jade Primo, at CES 2016. The Liquid Jade Primo was initially described as a "PC in your pocket", and as the phone sees its official introduction we're looking at something that's, on paper at least, every bit as capable as Microsoft's Lumia 950.

The PC in your pocket line refers to Continuum, and since the Jade Primo has the necessary hardware on offer, this is the first smartphone without a Microsoft badge on it that is going to be available to take advantage of the feature (the only other phones released up to this point that support Continuum are the aforementioned Lumia 950 and it's big brother the Lumia 950 XL.) Hooking the Jade Primo up to a monitor, keyboard and mouse will give the same PC-like experience with Universal Windows Apps as Microsoft's two flagships.

So, what make's it tick? Here's a quick rundown of what's inside:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor

3GB of RAM

32GB of internal storage

5.5-inch, Full HD 1080p AMOLED display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass

21MP rear camera with dual-LED flash

8MP wide angle front facing camera

Cat. 6 LTE

When it comes to pricing and availability there's both good and bad news, depending where you are. The Jade Primo will be available from February in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, with pricing set at a steep €569. It will roll out to other regions gradually afterwards, with pricing and exact specifications subject to change. At this time there's no word on a U.S. launch.

The better news is that we'll be taking a thorough look at the Acer Liquid Jade Primo from Las Vegas, so stay tuned for much more.

The Acer Liquid Jade Primo features Acer's award-winning Liquid Jade design language with a sleek and slim profile, curved back cover that fits comfortably in the hand and ergonomic 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass screen. The rear and front covers feature a fine hairline-brushed finish, while a sharp diamond-cut band wraps the chassis and gives the smartphone an even more polished look. The cohesive circular-shaped receiver, rear camera and speaker inherited from the Jade family add a touch of elegance.

Multitasking Multiplied

With a USB Type-C monitor, wireless display accessories or the Display Dock, the Liquid Jade Primo can provide a PC-like experience on an external display with Windows 10 universal apps. It can be used as a touchpad and virtual keyboard or a keyboard and mouse can be connected for multitasking on both the screen and on the external display; this unlocks use-cases such as:
- Connecting the smartphone to a TV or monitor at hotels or anywhere on the go for productivity-intensive applications, so that the heavier laptop can be left at home.
- Projecting presentation decks to a projector or large screen, while displaying the "Presenter View" on the smartphone.
- Playing videos on the TV while using other apps on the smartphone simultaneously.

The Liquid Jade Primo features a stunning 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display that supports 100 percent of the NTSC color gamut with 10000:1 contrast and 176-degree wide-viewing angles. A hexa-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 808 processor along with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal memory provides powerful performance needed for multitasking, while LTE Cat. 6 and 802.11ac MIMO connectivity options makes downloads a snap. The 21MP f/2.2 auto-focus rear camera has dual LED flash and supports up to 4K (3840 x 2160) video recording and the 8MP f/2.2 front-facing camera boasts a wide-angle of up to 84-degrees, while supporting up to Full HD 1080p video recording.

Engineering Excellence

To reduce the heat that resource-intensive multitasking brings, the Liquid Jade Primo features an advanced cooling system that efficiently dissipates the heat from the processor, while also reducing the overall rear surface temperature.

For a slimmer chassis, the Liquid Jade Primo's antenna is formed by laser direct structuring (LDS) technology, allowing integration of the antenna and back cover. Also contributing to the slimmer profile is on-cell touch technology, which moves the touch layer onto the outer glass surface of the screen, eliminating the touch substrate layer.

Enterprise-Grade Security and Device Management

With BitLocker technology on Windows 10 Mobile, the Liquid Jade Primo allows for full encryption of all user data stored on internal memory, protecting the device from offline hardware-level attacks. For corporate users, the Liquid Jade Primo also supports device management solutions such as Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA DM) v1.2 and Microsoft Intune, so that IT personnel can help users be productive while safeguarding company information.

Pricing and Availability

The Acer Liquid Jade Primo will be available in EMEA in February with prices starting at €569, and will be gradually rolled out to other regions. Pricing will be announced in each market closer to availability.

It's Windows 10 Mobile. If only it were as easy to get rid of crapware on a desktop OS. Just hold your finger on the app and choose delete. It REALLY is gone. Even Acer can't do anything about that. :)

Keep in mind that MSRP at Acer does not hold the same relationship to "street price" as it does at Apple or Microsoft. So I'd reserve opinions based simply on price. We'll have to wait and see.

I have the blessing and good fortune of being able to "test" devices for corporate evaluation, so I'm not burdened with forming opinions based soley on marketing materials and forum opinons. :)

I'm looking forward to actually putting one of these Acers through its paces. I think there is a good chance that at some point in its life cycle it will become a bargain for the right folks. Maybe sooner than later? Albeit, we will need Continuum to progress in the direction that it promises. Or put another way, only Continuum makes a flagship neccesary for what we would use it for. Without Continuum, we can deploy "640ish" devices just fine.

I definitely want to see Continuum improve. I do wonder whether existing devices like the 950 will get any big improvements to continuum, like running two apps snapped on the external monitor. Stuff like that could be restricted by hardware so the 1st gen continuum devices could be as good as they will get already I suppose.

Before someone goes for it, let mi tell you this. No HERE Drive, Maps, Transportation, nada. No Mixradio. No Lumia whatever app is out there. No glance and many other settings available in Lumias as Other settings. Think good before you go for a Windows Phone that has even less apps than Lumia.

There are plenty of those. Hardly need the latest tech in a low-mid range device. What we don't have is a flagship phone on the largest US carrier. Amazingly, this phone won't even be available in the US (at least no current plans, says the article)...

No way I would buy a 3rd party device not directly supported by MS with all of the problems like simple audio notifications from Outlook not working. Once I used to be die hard HTC when it came to my Windows phones, but now that so many things are broken, I want an MS device so there is a chance I get a fix sooner.

Welp, since MS can push updates though whenever they want, I don't really see a problem to be honest. My HTC M8 still runs the latest W10M, even though HTC has all but forgotten about the device. I'm not having any troubles, with the exception of the occasional software bugs (not nearly as bad as on the 950/950 XL from what I'm reading).

But I understand what you mean when it comes down to firmware updates. But then again, I'm still not too worried about it at this point. I'm definitly going to grab this Primo once it's released.

It's definitly more expensive then I've hoped it to be. But then again, you do get a lot of goodies for that price. And my first WP7 device was from Acer, so I'm buying one out of pure nostalgia. Okay, I like the shape as well, even though it looks a bit cheap for such a pricy device. But then again, so do the latest Lumia's *shrug*

It's only a 5.5" screen so it's hard to fairly compare it against the 950XL. I already find 5.7" screens a tad smaller than what I prefer. However, if you look at it as an upsized 950 then it's a fairer comparison (especially since they both have 808s).

I render the good old days when people were more concerned with what a computing device could do than how it looked. It could be the ugliest phone on the market but if it had the best features and/or price and/or build quality, I'd probably buy it in a heartbeat.

If only that were the main determining factor. This current style where every phone has to be a metal and glass slab even though most people stick it in a case is silly. The specs of the 950 and 950XL are on point and that should be the most important thing on the hardware side along with weight.

1. I am not sure that you can expect Nokia level support from Microsoft anymore....
1. Only issue will be with the firmware/drivers fir those devices. If they sell enough, I am sure other OEMs would support...

@libra89. Some just don't realise a vibrant ecosystem isn't created by a single OEM. Apple is the exception not the norm as they have pretty much been the sole OEM of their own products for aeons. Plus Microsoft has always relied on OEMs to build hardware and that wont change any time soon.

Software wise or/and firmware wise? I kinda agree with you, although we have to try and trust other oems if we want W10M to saturize the market. Acer was one of the first to support WP7 so I'm still getting one out of pure nostalgia. My HTC M8 still seems to run good enough on W10M and that device has been completely forgotten by HTC. So I'm curious how Acer will do. I'm carefully optimistisc for now.

I'll be tempted but need to see final UK pricing vs the Lumia 950/XL. A 1080p screen is fine for me personally (Lumia 930 for example, still looks great screen wise IMO) but will need the price to be lower than the 950 really.

I don't care who the manufacturer is, if it's a decent phone. I do think the Lumias are currently the best, so right now, those would be my preference. But Microsoft has a long history of selling an OS that runs on other companies' hardware. In the US, the largest cell carrier, Verizon, has no flagship, so I'd grab this in a heartbeat if it were available here (sounds like it won't be).

Biggest problem for me with the phone is not the brand name, but lack of wireless charging. I have Qi chargers in several rooms of my house now, at my office, and in my car... I'm highly motivated to get another phone that will work with those. Plugging in a cable may seem simple, but compared to the one-handed set-it-down to charge, it'd be like going back to TV without a remote control.

I seriously am. With the exception of my first Windows Phone, the HTC Arrive, which still works great to this day, I've been the Lumia route and I have to tell you they still have some serious quality control problems, I'm sure you've never had a problem with any Lumia but from experience, I've had more than my share. I have the HTC One M8. running the latest build of W10M. Not a single issue.

How is the 21mp camera that Acer is offering? Im upgrading from my Ativ S to this or the 950 for capturing pics of my 8 month old son. The 950 & XL have been sold out on the MS store online for at least three weeks now. I check every day.